Noble Helium Limited (ASX:NHE), a company focused on helium exploration and development in Tanzania, has announced an agreement with its lender group to amend the terms of its Original Loan, initially established to cover a VAT refund shortfall. The company has also successfully raised $2,150,000 through a secured convertible loan note issued to professional, wholesale, and sophisticated investors. This capital injection allows Noble Helium to partially repay existing facilities and extend the maturity date of the Original Loan to 30th June 2027.
Under the amended terms, one lender has been repaid in full, while the remaining lenders have agreed to roll over their facilities for eighteen months, receiving a 25% principal repayment. The revised maturity date for the outstanding loan is set for 30th June 2027, with a face value of approximately A$2.8 million. In exchange for reducing their interest rate to 12%, three of the remaining lenders will have the option to convert up to one-third of their principal into company shares under the same terms as any future broadly based market equity offering.
Additionally, the company will grant options over 7,446,810 shares to the remaining lenders in consideration of these changes, subject to shareholder approval. The convertible loan note carries a 12% per annum interest rate, capitalised and payable upon conversion or maturity. Conversion into Noble Helium shares will occur at the price of the first widely offered equity placement or entitlement offer following the execution of the loan documentation, also subject to shareholder approval. Furthermore, loan note holders will be granted a 1-for-2 option with a strike price equal to the widely offered issuance price and a two-year term.
Noble Helium’s Executive Chairman, Dennis Donald, stated that this restructuring and partial repayment removes a major hurdle to the company’s refinancing and strategic turnaround, paving the way for the implementation of the Rukwa drilling program this year. The Board expressed its appreciation for the support of both the continuing lenders and the new convertible loan note holders.
